Battle of Medina to be re-enacted today

More Information

The biggest, bloodiest battle fought on Texas soil will be re-enacted this morning at Southside High School Stadium.

It will be part of the district's fourth annual Cardinal Fest, which begins at 11 a.m. with a parade. Re-enactors will take the field at about noon at1460 Martinez-Losoya Road at U.S. 281 South.

Lesser known than the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, the clash in 1813 was the first battle for independence by the first republic of Texas.

It was the republic's last battle, too. Its exact location, probably about 20 miles south of San Antonio, is lost to posterity. About 1,300 combatants were killed.

“This was a real evolution,” said Dan Arellano, president of the Austin-based Battle of Medina Society, who will narrate the re-enactment.

Activists such as Arellano have pressed for more acknowledgement of the battle's historical significance, and for the short-lived republic's emerald green banner to be recognized as the seventh flag to fly over Texas.

But the battle has become better recognized, he said.

“The re-enactment has helped our community to understand better that historic moment,” Southside Independent School District spokesman Jorge Topete said. “It is believed the battle happened in our vicinity, and it might have happened on our actual grounds.”

“It's now included in our history textbooks,” he said. “What better way to teach a history lesson than with a re-enactment?”

Competing theories, educated guesses and searches for artifacts still have failed to confirm where a Spanish royalist army of 1,820 soldiers crushed some 1,400 Tejanos, American Indians (primarily Lipan Apaches) and Anglo-Americans.

Today's re-enactment will be considerably smaller.

“Last year, we had 35 volunteers,” Arellano said. “If I get 50 this year, I'll be so happy.”

Re-enactors are asked to be at the stadium by 10:30 a.m. for a rehearsal. The Battle of Medina's Facebook page offers images of costuming, he said.

Immediately following the stadium event, the group will travel a mile to the nearby Toudouze ranch for another re-enactment, which will be shot by San Antonio filmmaker Bill Millet, who's working on a documentary titled “Texas before the Alamo.”

“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Arellano said. “Finally, the Battle of Medina will be viewed by a national audience,” referring to hopes the film will air on PBS.

The district's Cardinal Fest at the high school ends at 6 p.m. and will feature student performances, bands and food booths.